General News: Kids Speak: Geo-Caching in Cornwall
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| The remains of Doodletown |
February 14, 2007
By Ian Silverstone
Seventh-grader at CCMS
There is a new phenomenon cropping up in outdoor nature activities, called geo-caching. Geo-caching allows you to get outdoors on a hike or to an outdoor spot while you conduct a scavenger hunt for a box of items hidden in nature.
First, go to www.geocaching.com and locate the coordinates to a box of treasures in an area near you. There are numerous geo-caching venues in Cornwall, such as Black Rock Forest. There are also many sites in Bear Mountain, one is called “Doodletown," named for the town that thrived there in the late 19th-century, but was abandoned decades ago and became a ghost town. You can still find the foundations of old homes and buildings from the settlement.
Also on the website are clues to where the cache is hidden. In order to find the coordinates, a GPS (global positioning system) is required for the trek. The hike can vary from a quarter of a mile to several miles. You can choose how strenuous you want your hike to be.
Once you are in the vicinity of the given coordinates, you must rely on your senses to find the box. It is frequently hidden in a natural place that looks peculiar or stands out. When you find the box, it will be packed with cheap but fun little trinkets and memorabilia (such as a Happy Meal toy from McDonald’s or a baseball card.) You can select something you like and keep it, and it is encouraged that you bring your own kitschy item to put back in the box. There is frequently a log-book where you can sign in, stating where you’re from and the date. It’s fun to see where people have come from. Geo-caching is a wonderful way to be active outdoors, and a fun way to spend time in nature.
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